Setting goals

[BabyMuscles]

Time difference is 3 months from the first to the second picture. I put on a little weight in those months. I definately need the improvement in lung capacity that swimming would provide. You would think I smoke the way I get out of breath sometimes when I'm doing activities. As for what I'm drinking daily:

Water: 40-60 oz. (I know, I'm working on that)
Cran-Grape Juice: about 16 oz.
Pepsi/Coke: 1-2 cans (trying to cut back)
Sunny Delight: occasionally
Sweet Tea: occasionally

When I decide to switch to a 4 day workout, how should I split my body parts as opposed to my 3 day workout?

 

[FitFossil]

In my opinion, the best thing for motivation and staying on track with your goals is a TRAINING LOG.

For me it helps as follows:

1) I write up my workouts ahead of time, like the week or night before. That way, if I think about skipping a workout, I remind myself of how I spent the time to write it up and how guilty I'll feel having to leave everything blank. (Though nowdays working out is just a part of my life like brushing my teeth.)

2) Seeing your weights/reps increase over time is a great motivator. The changes in your body may not be as visible or as fast as you want, but when you can see from week to week how your strength is improving, you'll know that good things ARE happening! Even though I never kept a food log, my training log made me think about what I was eating because I saw how what I eat translates directly into the results I got in the gym. Even though working out allows eating more calories, I became conscious of the VALUE (meaning nutrients) of those calories versus just the number of calories.

3) I used to worry about people thinking I was weird for carrying a training log (not many at my gym use one), but figured I'd bite the bullet and do it anyway, because I liked not having to try and remember what weights to use. Now I don't care what they think, because I know it's my secret weapon!

 

[Phemomena]

training log (and a diet log (can be the same physical book)) is a fantastic idea and a great motivator...

a four day workout could be

day 1 legs
day 2 chest and tris
day 3 back and bis
day 4 shoulders, abs and calves (misc. day )

or

day 1 chest, front delts
day 2 hamstrings and calves
day 3 back and rear delts
day 4 glutes, bis and tris

or

well, you get the picture, it's really something you do that will work best for you, you can follow other peoples routines but you may not get the results you want... when you get to know your body and what you want and/or expect to see, you'll be able to have fun with the routine and really get the most out of your time in the gym... half the fun of things is changing it up too, i never got myself set in one routine for two long... i found variety worked best for me...

dont' get me started on the smoking though... hehe

 

[BabyMuscles]

Well today was my last session with my trainer and I've developed a weekly training schedule. I've decided to go ahead and lift 4 days instead of 3. Each day includes 25-30 minutes of cardio.

Tuesdays - Chest and back
Thursdays - Legs
Saturdays - Triceps and biceps
Sundays- Shoulders and abs

 

[JJFigure]

Try not to drink your kcalories - if you need a soda, switch to diet. You don't need juice; if you want some fruit in your diet, add fruit and reap the benefits of fiber, but don't drink juice. It's much more fun eating than drinking your kcalories!

Since you're a trackster, why don't you head out to the track and do sprints? That'll increase your lung capacity, help you build muscle, and you're already familiar with it.

And I'd say your bodyfat % is correct. You look like you have very nice genes, but I'm sure your track years has helped out as well.

 

[George Spellwin]

A new article has been added:

"Top Fitness Goals for Muscle Building Success This Year"

<strong>With last year now in the books, many bodybuilders are hitting the gym with renewed fitness goals. Unfortunately, many of these people will fall off of their new fitness goals within the first few months. If you don’t want to join them, you’d better read our top 12 fitness goals that will have you packing on more muscle than ever!

Here's the link to read about setting and reaching your <a href="http://bodybuilding.elitefitness.com/fitness-goals" target="_blank">Fitness Goals</a>!